Sunday, February 2, 2014

Nibbles…in all shapes and forms!

In the wee hours of this morning, I spent some time in a balmy lounge room with a cup of Earl Grey tea in one hand, and a pencil in the other.

Mouse sketch

Just a rough sketch of a cute little mouse snuggled on a pillow below a blankie, cuddling its miniature teddy.  A new stitchery design?  I’ve had mice on the brain.  In fact, last night I felt like a very proud grandparent, babysitting Miss Rosie’s new pet… in typical Mum Mode, I was listening out all night, making sure it’s tiny frame didn’t escape between the bars, ensuring no harm would come.  Let’s just say, I needed a third cup of coffee this morning!!

Nibbles the Mouse

Miss Rose soooo wanted a pet of her own.  I kept hamsters when I was a young kid and loved them.  But it was a surprise to discover that Australia is a hamster-free-zone.  They’re not allowed to be imported, and therefore illegal in this country.  The cute little fur-balls would adapt so well to the Aussie environment that government officials deemed they could breed in plague proportions.  Better safe than sorry.

Do your children, or grandchildren have their own pets?  I think it’s good for older children to have a bit of responsibility under supervision, and by having pets in the home you can teach kindness by example.  I love animals!

Okay, so Nibbles isn’t the only one nibbling at the moment… I’ve been on a healthy-eating drive this past few weeks.  I was terrible for skipping lunch and grabbing pre-packaged snacks in the afternoon to keep me going.  By tea-time I was so tired.  I didn’t take any responsibility for how many calories I was consuming, so with needing to lose weight for health reasons, I decided that a realistic and steady goal would be to aim for a 1 kilo weight loss each week. 

Healthy sandwich

I keep track of my calories with a free I-Phone/on-line app called My Fitness Pal.  Too easy!  You can even scan the labels on pre-packaged foods, or create your own regular food lists, it’s so easy to use.  It also works out your daily nutritional food values, and factors in exercise when you specify. 

By making a few small changes I’m seeing the benefits already.  I no longer skip lunch, choosing wholegrain bread with a small sprinkling of cheese and salad, no spread.  Chocolate is not something I’m craving, which is fantastic!  And it’s amazing what a small weight loss (2kilos!) can do psychologically – I feel positively svelte!  Yet of course, I am not… but I feel so good in myself – not for losing the weight – but for looking after myself.  Does that make sense?!  Of course it is inevitable that I will fall off the ladder from time to time, but when I do, ‘tomorrow’ is always a new day… one step at a time!  We are too hard on ourselves, are we not?!

The kids went back to school at the tail end of last week, and as much as I miss them, it’s good to have a routine again.  Miss Rose has had a fair bit of time off with medical issues, and that will continue to be the case until we get to the bottom of the problem.  But she’s a bright happy little soul, and is beginning to comprehend that it’s still important for Mummy to ‘work’ during the day.  I love the new phases that childhood plays out, the conversations become more diverse and dynamic, and there’s always plenty of comedy material for a good chuckle with hubby after she’s tucked up in bed at night!

Ahh… it feels like a lazy Sunday and I could chat for hours… It has been so hot again these past few days, but a cool change is on the horizon for Tuesday, I hope.  Heat is not conducive to production!!  But when it is too hot to do housework or step in to a non-air-conditioned-studio, there is always plenty of time for sketching up new ideas, and one can never have too many of those!

Until next time sweet friends, either keep cool or keep warm!  Don’t forget to be as kind to yourself as you are to others – it’s much easier to kick some goals if you do!!

Catch you soon!  Big hugs! Vikki xo

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